Kari's Mia 10/15 Surgery

Very good, Kari! I remember my Jeremy's tail wagging was very sporadic at first. He would wag his tail, though it wasn't a smooth wag - sort of jerky - when I spoke in a happy voice but then he wouldn't do it again for weeks. The improvements to his leg movements were so very gradual that I would question whether I really saw a movement or not. I'm glad Mia had such a positive visit with the surgeon. Thanks for the update!

Kari, it does sound as though Mia is still making gradual improvements. Feeling resistance in my Jeremy's legs when doing PT was the first sign that I had that movement in his legs was returning. You should speak to the surgeon as to how much movement he wants her to be doing at this point. He knows best how extensive the surgery was. You should use a sling to support her hind end while she's out to potty and to prevent her from dragging.

Nerves can sometimes take months or even years to heal. I was still seeing improvements in my Jeremy's mobility a year and a half after his surgery. Over that period of time, he would reach a plateau where I didn't see improvement for a few weeks and then he would start improving again. Here's the information on after crate rest and the gradual re-introduction to movement:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htm

Just take it one day at a time and tell her every day that she's getting better. Because she is!

Thanks Marjorie and djaustin.
Tomorrow it will have been 4 weeks since her surgery. Maybe I'm just having a "down" moment, but she isn't even standing on her back feet yet. Am I being overly optimistic to think she will walk again? I know it is early, I guess I just need some reassuring stories to keep my hopes up. Trying to stay positive

We had a great day today. Mia definitely had a tail wag - it was steady and consistent. She wagged it while eating her food, must have made her happy. Then, tonight, I took her out for a pee and she stood on her own. Only a short amount of time, but she did it (I let the sling go completely slack and she didn't collapse as she would have before). So happy!

Hi everyone! I apologize for no recent updates on Mia. Our entire family came down with illness this week. Mia has been stable. She hasn't had many changes per se but she is appearing to get stronger. She is using her back legs to push up lately. She has also shown some evidence of being able to stand on her back legs momentarily.
She is off crate rest as of Dec 3 and I am growing a bit nervous as the date approaches. I don't know if she will continue to drag her legs - I assume she will and how much exercise/activity can she have in those early days? We see the vet later that week but it's not the surgeon so I'm not sure how much guidance my vet will be able to provide? We don't have any physiotherapy available locally so it will be up to be to continue that aspect of her care. Any advice is most appreciated!! Thank you.

Hello everyone! Mia has been off crate rest for a week now. Took her to our local vet last Thursday - vet said that she continues to progress but it is at a very slow pace. She is starting to stand for longer periods now (maybe 5-10 sec as opposed to only a few sec before. She gets excited when she's out so I have to be careful too. I am struggling to let her do enough - paranoid that she could reinjure herself. Tough to let go of the fear. The vet (in consultation with the surgeon) said we are doing things right... I hope so.

Have you given water therapy in your bathtub a try? Since she can push up into a standing position, the buoyancy of the water can help her weak legs make walking motions with more ease. At home water therapy: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htm

Hi everyone! I am happy to report that Mia continues to improve since graduating from crate rest. She is now able to stand on her hind legs for at least 30 seconds and does walk (albeit very wobbly) for about 5-10 seconds. She seems to have coordination with both legs (ie. you can see that she is moving both legs as she should be), but her stamina is still really poor.
I had a few questions:
1. We still keep her in her play pen for most of the day and let her out to walk around about 4-6 times per day. Her general time out is about 5-10 minutes but she often collapses and just sits for a while. Should I be using the sling for the whole time that she walks or should I be encouraging her to walk on her own. She seems to do better with the sling but with both cases, she reaches her maximum and it's hard to get her to move after that. That is usually when we put her in her playpen to rest. She requires a great deal of encouragement with the sling but she also lasts shorter times on her own.
2. Our vet did not give exact times with her time in the crate now - but I am wondering if I should be letting her stay out longer, even if she is just sitting, as she seems to enjoy being part of the family activities. I always supervise her out of the play pen time.
I haven't done much with the water therapy - mostly because she hates being in the water - but I think I will now. She seems to have plateaued a bit these past few days so despite great improvements over the past few weeks, I want her to continue to get stronger. We live in a wintery climate so outdoor walks are not an option.
Thanks everyone for your ongoing support. I'm not on as much as I was in the early stages but I appreciate this forum to ask questions as we evolve in her care.

Hi Pauliana and all, thanks for the ongoing advice. We have no access to any laser therapy or pet rehab in our city. Apparently there was a rehab place but it didn't have enough business!
There is one place that does acupuncture but due to finances and logistics with two young kids, we haven't been able to consider it. I tried the water/bath route at home and she hated it. Spent more time thrashing and fighting her then actually working on the steps. I will try again. I was trying to find the right temperature (not too not or cold), but I'll have to experiment.
She still spends a great deal of time in her playpen and I feel bad about that. She has deep pain sensation so I am hopeful for recovery. Can I let her come out (supervised) and spend time with us? I do take her out 5-6 times per day to do a walk around our main floor. She is in the sling and seems to have just enough stamina to get through that but it's hard to tell. I'm hoping to increase her time out walking around and distance as I am currently at home on maternity leave but once I return to work, she will be in her pen all day while we are away. I am hoping to make as much headway on her strength and recovery in the next few months but I know it will be slow and hopefully steady, of which we have little control over the speed of her nerve regeneration.
I am struggling to feel like we are doing enough for her. She can't do the basic instructions on the 'after crate rest' document for the most part so we are slowly working to get there. I just want to do what is best for her to help her healing and her strength returning.

Hi everyone,
It's been a while and I thought I would write with an update on Mia. It's been over 6 months since Mia's surgery. She continues to improve, though admittedly, it is hard to see the finer parts of her improvements. She can now walk across our back hard unassisted but remains wobbly and sometimes stumbles. The weather has just recently changed so that it is warm enough she can spend some time outside but I am concerned about how much activity is too much for her. She seems to be a poor judge herself of what she can and can't do, and has always been this way with playtime (chasing balls etc). My husband gave her a ball to play with over the weekend and she had a great time, though we limited her time to a short interval and ensured there was no jumping. However since that time, we have noticed episodes of her dragging herself. For the most part she walks from point a to b but if she has to make a small movement in any direction, she just drags. It would almost seem that she knows that she doesn't need to do the extra work to get up using her back legs and just walks with back legs dragging because it is easier. If that makes sense? Is this something we should worry about? I've been studying her movements for a few days and that's what seems to be the pattern. She is in her crate all day during the day while we are at work so we do try to give her some activity when we get home to help build her back leg strength. And how much is too much activity? I try to be very aware of short intervals and not allow her to over do it but sometimes it's hard to tell where the line between enough and too much is. She also tries to run sometimes and although wobbly, should we allow her to do it? I'm just wondering about boundaries on activity while she is getting stronger. The good news is that , while very slow, she is improving
Thanks in advance for your advice!